Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:35 pm on 28 November 2018.
Thank you very much for all of the contributions to this short debate this afternoon. I think it's been a very useful debate. It's been about timing. I think it was inevitable that we would move on to areas of the pros and cons of the black route, and some very strong points were made by Jenny Rathbone and Lee Waters and others that I would agree with—that we are barking up the wrong tree here in terms of the approach that has been taken in developing the black route, and what that says about our lack of innovation in dealing with a major transport challenge that we have in Wales.
Some technical points have been made about the process that we will follow. Let me just make it clear in my mind. I think we need that pause to take a breath around this time around the changing of a First Minister. I do not believe that we should be having that debate here in the Assembly next week. I think that should happen in the early days of a new First Minister. As I outlined—and the point has been supported by others—this is about ownership of this programme for a new M4, or not, by a new First Minister and, as was rightly pointed out, his or her Government—his or her Cabinet. I believe that we are, in effect, asking for a delay—a slight delay—in order that we hopefully can move quicker towards a more innovative solution for the transport challenges of south-east Wales and that M4 corridor, which, as I expressed earlier, we certainly recognise do exist.
So, I hope that people will see today's vote and today's discussion for what they are: a signal of this Parliament's wish that the incoming new First Minister applies the utmost clarity to consideration of what is in our best interests as a nation when it comes to that decision on the new M4. I'm grateful for the signals that this motion will be supported this afternoon, and I look forward now to seeing the new Government and the new First Minister saying, 'This is our decision—a decision that we are not willing to take, or that we are willing to take, and face the consequences upon it.'